In Pictures: The Isle of Man under snow

The Manx emergency services battle with snow drifts higher than ten-feet as the Isle of Man experiences the heaviest snow fall in more than 50 years.

A severe weather warning was issued by the Isle of Man's met office on Thursday and by Friday night many of the roads on the west coast of the island were impassable

It is estimated that farmers will have lost thousands of sheep and cattle as the hunt continues for animals which have been buried in snow drifts since Friday

The worst hit area of the Isle of Man was the west coast and many of the roads around Peel, Kirk Michael, Patrick and Glen Maye were closed for days

The Manx Electricity Authority said engineers were working around the clock to deal with "the most widespread damage to power lines since the storms of 2005" with hundreds of islanders without power throughout the weekend

The island's community spirit kicked in, said a spokesman from Manx National Farmers Union, when many farmers took to the hills to create paths to remote areas to help stranded and isolated neighbours

The Isle of Man government, in association with the Manx Farmers Union issued an emergency hotline (01624 685844) for people to call with concerns about elderly or vulnerable neighbours living in the countryside